Paralyzed Geophagus

[DasAlteMelosGuy]

Have you tested your water?

Yes

If I did not test my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

If I do not change my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

I had a beautiful, healthy, growing 5" Geophagus about 6 months old who suddenly lost the ability to move his body behind the pectorals. What I saw was what 'appeared' to be two ich spots on his spine area, just below the dorsal fin. One could see it was not two spots but a contiguous, white rod-like object (worm?) passing directly through his body, very close to his spine.

He pulls himself with pectorals and drags his tail along the bottom. I've tried aggressive salt/heat treatment which saw the two 'spots' (ends of the worm?) fall off but he seemed to worsen.

He turned from turquoise to yellow all over and stopped eating. In my desperation, (and not knowing what it could be), I used Metronidazole + Praziquantel, no help. Then I used the same plus Malachite and Erythromycin + the salt in that I had no idea what I'm treating (Aquarium Coop's Treatment Trio). After that combination, in 2 days I saw an improvement of sorts.

He now seems much more energetic and eats voraciously but he still cannot move the back half of his body. His color seems to be returning and he's eating a great deal although he must contort his body to pick up food. Yet he does so and eats as much or more than when he was well. He just cannot move any part of his body behind the pectorals.

I love the little guy but I don't want to torment him. If the consensus is that he's permanently paralyzed or is suffering, I will get out the clove oil but if people think he has a chance of regaining even reasonable mobility, I'd surely love to try it. I just don't want to torment him. Oddly, while clearly disabled, he seems content and not in any kind of stress. He will (now) wiggle his way up to your finger when tapping on the glass. He even has begun digging again (he always busily built large gravel piles) although with limited mobility, he doesn't get very far!

Please let me know any opinions you might have on this. I've had both fresh and marine tanks since the 1970s and NEVER saw anything like this. I've spoken to a local ichthyologist who said she'd never heard of a fish becoming paralyzed. Frankly if he's not suffering, I'll find a suitable home where he won't be threatened by his immobility. He was being grown out to ultimately live with fellow SA Cichlids in a 120 gallon we have set up. He's just a little too small at present for the tankmates. I'm mostly concerned if he's suffering. If anyone out there has any similar experience or ideas, it would be most welcome.

Thank you for any light you can shed on this. Sincerely, Mark


Note: He's lived in a well cycled 65 gallon tank for many months. I've not seen an NO2 or NH3 spike in nearly a year and NO3 has been under 20ppm consistently. All my tanks get a 50% water change weekly.

 

[kno4te]

Not sure. Could be injury or some infection in the spine. Either way I’d keep it separate from other fish if it’s able to eat, swim around and dig. Just so it can be fed and looked after.

 

[duanes]

This is one of those dilemmas that we fish keepers occasionally face.
If a fish is struggling, and can't exist with others comfortabley, what should we do?
In nature, it would take care of itself quickly. Any fish that isn't in top form will become easy pickens for predators.
I usually give it some reasonable amount of time, and if it doesn't auto-correct I euthanize.
I have a "do not necessitate order" for myself.
And have given my wife power of attorney to pull the plug if needed, so my sons don't have to face that dilemma themselves.

 

[DasAlteMelosGuy]

Thank you both so much for the advice. I know, it's difficult to euthanize him when I have no idea what occurred so he may recover although (I felt) albeit unlikely given the severity of what his symptoms are. As one of you said above, I'd certainly welcome that mercy if I was in such dire straits!

I usually try to be more targeted in treatment but as this one really bewildered me. To that end, I used the Aquarium Coop prophylactic trio + salt for a more 'global' assault on the unknown as he seemed like he was dying or frankly even needed clove oil.

If not familiar, that's 4 medications (4 including salt) that basically contain: Praziquantel, Metronidazole, Erythromycin, Formaldehyde, Malachite Green and 1tbsp/gallon salt.

I added each on different days to see how he tolerated each drug. He seemed to tolerate each addition very well (almost indifferent) but they didn't seem to help except that the ends of the worm fell off after the salt addition. Oddly enough, I saw no improvement in his behavior until the Malachite/Formaldehyde were added to the rest (which surprised me). At 86*, he sat 2 weeks in the salt, then a week in Praziquantel, Metronidazole, then a week in the latter + Erythromycin, all seemed to do nothing. But about 36 hours after adding Malachite/Formaldehyde, he began to exhibit energy and appetite.

I guess I'm going to wait. The reason being, he's vastly improving in appetite, color and energy level. He no longer appears distressed, he just can't swim! He drags his tail all across the tank, propelled entirely by his pecs. He even excitedly drags himself up to your finger on the glass if you tap on it! If he still appeared to be suffering, it would change this equation but I thought I'd just continue the 'global treatment' for a time and see if he starts regaining mobility?

If I were to venture a guess (and it's definitely a guess!), it seems like a worm of some sort penetrated his spine and disabled everything south of that point (just below his dorsal fin)? While the worm ends have since fallen off, the rest of the worm is still visible, passing through him but no longer protrudes from his skin and it's white color has faded greatly.

To that end, does anyone suggest a different drug for a worm that may not be reacting to the Praziquantel? I've seen Fenbendazole & Levamisole recommended. Has anyone had any experience with either of those? I've never used either. I'm hoping the worm, if thoroughly killed will remove whatever pressure it's exhibiting on his spine and he'll regain mobility?

This is the Geophagus. I apologize for the image resolution but hopefully you can see where the worm is passing through him nonetheless (The white ends have since fallen off).

Thanks again for all of your help.